Plastic shoe heel



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Sapt M @958 F. M. Rowen PLASTIC SHOE HEEL Filed Feb. 20, 1957 FAG! FIG.3

INVENTOR FERNANDO M. RONCI ATTORNEY United States Patent PLASTIC SHOE HEEL Fernando M. Ronci, Providence, R. 1.

Application February 20, 1957, Serial No. 641,404

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-34) My present invention relates to the shoemaking art and more particularly to a novel construction of a plastic shoe heel.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an integral one-piece plastic shoe heel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an integral one-piece plastic shoe heel in which there is a considerable saving in weight.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a plastic shoe heel having built in reinforcing means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a plastic shoe heel at a considerable saving in costs.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a womans shoe having a heel embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 on Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 on Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 on Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 3 showing the use of additional reinforcing means.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member.

It has become fashionable in womens shoes to wear very narrow high heels. These heels have become so small in cross section that they break easily especially when made of wood. Attempts have been made to mold such heels out of tough vinyl plastic material. However, it has been found that such plastic heels are very expensive and comparatively heavy. Since such heels are used on tiny formal shoes, the solid plastic heels often weigh more than the entire shoe. The present invention is designed to provide a plastic heel which will save a considerable amount of weight and cost.

The savings in the present invention are accomplished by providing a hollow heel made in an integral one-piece construction so that its necessary strength is retained. Referring more in detail to the drawings, the shoe 10 is provided with an integral one-piece plastic heel 11 having an elongated spike portion 12 and a broad top 13 for attachment to the shoe. The heel is formed in a spin type mold which provides an integral one-piece construction with a hollow portion 14 in the centre.

The greatest strain is at the lower thin part of the shoe. This portion 15 is made solid for about one third of the length of the heel inwardly. As can be seen in Figs. 3 and 4, side walls 16 are then provided approximately inch or inch thick so that the hollow center follows the shape of the heel. The broad top portion 13 is thicker than the side walls since it must accommodate nails or screws for attachment to the shoe. The bottom of the solid portion 15 will take nails for attachment to a leather heel or lift 17.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4, a considerable thickness must be allowed to the supporting walls of the heel because of the inherent resiliency of the plastic material. However, a considerable amount of additional savings of material can be efiected by the use of the reinforcing member shown in Fig. 6 which will permit the thickness of the plastic walls to be reduced considerably. Referring to Fig. 6, I provide a tempered steel strip 13 which may be bent into a U-shape with each arm provided with spaced openings 19. The strip 18 is positioned in the mold so that it becomes embedded in the heel 20 as shown in Fig. 5. The lower U-bend is positioned in the solid lower end of the heel 20 and the arms extend upwardly into the walls of the hollow portion of the heel. When the heel is molded, the plastic material will flow freely through the openings 19 so that there will be no interference with the proper molding of the heel.

The length of the arms of the member 18 may be varied as desired. They can be made to extend the complete height of the heel and will give strength and rigidity to a very thin plastic wall. Where such steel reinforcements are used a great deal of the plastic material around the heavy upper portion of the heel can be removed without the loss of the necessary supporting strength.

By constructing the heel in a single integral construction out of vinyl plastic material, with or without the reinforcing member, the basic necessary strength is re tained. However, the cost of plastic material depends on its weight and it will be found that the hollow section 14 willsave a considerable amount of weight and cost. The reinforcing member permits the saving of additional weight and cost. Note that the hollow portion is located at a point where the plastic material would normally be heaviest. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A narrow high spike heel for a womans shoe comprising an integral one-piece plastic body portion having an angularly disposed broad flat top of comparatively thick material, the vertical portion of said heel extending integrally from said top and tapering inwardly and downwardly from the perimeter of said top to form a central cavity in the form of an inverted cone, said walls converging into a narrow solid heel portion for the lower third of said heel, and a rigid reinforcing member embedded in the walls of said heel and extending parallel with the walls of said cavity.

2. A narrow high spike heel for a womans shoe comprising an integral one-piece plastic body portion having an angularly disposed broad flat top of comparatively thick material, the vertical portion of said heel extending integrally from said top and tapering inwardly and downwardly from the perimeter of said top to form a central cavity in the form of an inverted cone, said walls converging into a narrow solid heel portion for the lower third of said heel, and a U-shaped steel reinforcing member embedded in the walls of said heel and extending around the bottom of said cavity with the arms parallel to the walls of said cavity, said member having a plurality of openings therethrough to interlock with the plastic material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,733,185 De Witt Oct. 29, 1929 2,281,390 Simon Apr. 28, 1942 2,767,487 Friedman Oct. 23, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 615,937 France Jan. 19, 1927 

